Aljamain Sterling responds to the backlash over his remarks regarding Umar Nurmagomedov after UFC Shanghai

Aljamain Sterling faced a considerable amount of flak over the remarks he made regarding UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov in the aftermath of the latter's stunning KO defeat at UFC Shanghai. 

Sterling, who is himself no stranger to the bantamweight division, having previously reigned as the UFC bantamweight champion, has now responded to the backlash. 

Ex-UFC champ Aljamain Sterling suggested the UFC "rushed" Umar Nurmagomedov to the top

Dagestan's Umar Nurmagomedov suffered his professional MMA career's first loss when he was outpointed by then-UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili in their title fight last year. Nurmagomedov returned to his winning ways by scoring unanimous decision wins over Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo. 

The Dagestani combatant's next, and most recent, Octagon outing witnessed him suffer a terrifying second-round KO defeat at the hands of Song Yadong in the headlining match of UFC Shanghai on August 29.

Umar Nurmagomedov, who's the elder brother of PFL lightweight kingpin Usman Nurmagomedov and cousin of former UFC lightweight titlist Khabib Nurmagomedov, was a huge favorite to beat Yadong. Needless to say, the result was deemed an upset by many and set the MMA realm abuzz. 

In an edition of The Weekly Scraps Podcast, host Aljamain Sterling seemed to suggest that Umar Nurmagomedov's knockout defeat was due to his being pushed to the upper echelons of competition too soon by the UFC brass. 

Sterling stated, "This is what I was saying at the beginning of his career, when he first got into the UFC... I always said. You have to level up with the competition. You have to take your time, people... And I thought the UFC did him a disservice when they rushed him to the top. And now, this is what the situation is that we're dealing with." 

Watch Aljamain Sterling discuss Umar Nurmagomedov's defeat and more following UFC Shanghai below (*comments at the 2:30-minute mark of the video): 

Aljamain Sterling clears the air after his remarks on Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Shanghai elicit backlash

Aljamain Sterling faced significant condemnation from certain quarters of the mixed martial arts sphere, with many citing that he, too, had gotten knocked out by fighters like Marlon Moraes and "Sugar" Sean O'Malley. Some detractors argued that "Funk Master" was being rather harsh in his critique of Umar Nurmagomedov. 

Well, Sterling -- who recently claimed to have turned down an opponent from outside the UFC featherweight top 10 and is gunning for a fight that'll earn him a title shot at 145 pounds -- cleared the air on the Umar Nurmagomedov situation. 

Taking to X, he reacted to a post comprising footage of his comments about the UFC pushing Umar Nurmagomedov to the top too fast. Sterling seemingly reiterated his opinion and asked netizens to juxtapose Song Yadong's gradual ascent to the top with Nurmagomedov's meteoric rise. 

The 37-year-old reaffirmed his belief that if Nurmagomedov gradually made his way to the top, he'd have likely fixed his weakness and perhaps wouldn't have gotten caught by Song Yadong's punch.

Sterling wrote, "Rushed to a title. Never said Umar's not skilled. There's something to be said about experience, don't take my word for it tho. I "clearly" have no understanding of this sport. Now please go look up Songs record and compare it. It's a fight -- anything can happen. Do the homework." 

Rushed to a title. Never said Umar’s not skilled. There’s something to be said about experience, don’t take my word for it tho. I “clearly” have no understanding of this sport. Now please go look up Songs record and compare it. It’s a fight - anything can happen. Do the homework https://t.co/VuaQA952l7 pic.twitter.com/3yEL1frgD1

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) September 4, 2026